Two pairs of pliers and a coil of hay wire fashioned in the hands of a Minnesota county agent in 1936 helped solve an urgent need of the federal government's new land measuring program under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. The resulting wire model of the land measuring wheel created by E.S. Gandrud progressed to a rod measuring wheel approved by AAA for acreage measurement. It enabled one person to accurately accomplish what had previously taken two.

"If you can develop needed equipment like that, Gandy," said his next county committee in Pipestone, where he soon located, "You should devote your time to developing new ideas to aid the farmers."

Borrowing $100 from a local bank, Gandy financed the initial production of the measuring wheel by a St. Paul manufacturing firm and founded the E.S. Gandrud Company, later renamed Gandy Company.

The fledgling firm soon faced a new engineering task: How to uniformly apply sodium chlorate in the safer granular form than the volatile spray then being used to control western Minnesota's leading weed pest, "Creeping Jenny," or field bindweed. Gandy developed a metering device for the task, leading to the development of Gandy spreaders for phosphate, and later for balanced applications of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.

From the 30's to the new century the agricultural scene has changed dramatically in implements used, tillage practices and marketing, and Gandy Company looks ahead at even newer metering devices, ground speed compensation, and greater versatility in materials and rates being applied. Yet from the vantage point of over 60 years in business, we realize our essential task is to make our customers' work easier and safer; and while technologically advancing, keeping our design simple and our products accurate and efficient.